Former Kansas State star and current professional basketball player (in Italy) Jacob Pullen had some harsh words for recently fired Illini head Coach Bruce Weber, the man introduced as the new Coach at KSU this morning.

OK, this first bit clearly comes from a bit of deep-rooted bitterness.

Pullen was a bit raw as a combo guard at Proviso East High in Chicago's near-west suburbs, coming from the same program that had produced star guards for years — most recently Dee Brown at Illinois at the time.

But he wasn't recruited to follow in Brown's shoes by Weber at Illinois. Instead, Weber landed high-profile point guard prospect Demetri McCamey — another Chicago product — as the centerpiece of his 2007 recruiting class. A year earlier, he'd recruited big man Brian Carlwell — a teammate of Pullen's at Proviso East.

At the time, it was completely understandable why Weber went for McCamey instead. In hindsight, Pullen had a far more decorated and successful college career after taking a chance as an afterthought of sorts in a K-State recruiting class that was led by stars in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker.

Is there a point to bringing up all of Weber's recruiting misses? Granted, it's a very long list. While we're at it, let's bring up how Jereme Richmond, Crandall Head and McCamey himself were all HUGE DISAPPOINTMENTS. Or how Weber could have had John Shurna (the greatest player in Northwestern history) and Robbie Hummel (top 5 player in Purdue history) .

I mean Weber has already paid for these mistakes with his job, so what's the point? And he gets a pay check from two schools during the next two seasons, so don't cry for him too much. Pullen is simply expressing himself, and I'll defend to the death his right to do that; but it still comes off as sour grapes from five years ago; no more, no less.

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he's a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB)You should too.

Former Kansas State star and current professional basketball player (in Italy) Jacob Pullen had some harsh words for recently fired Illini head Coach Bruce Weber, the man introduced as the new Coach at KSU this morning.

OK, this first bit clearly comes from a bit of deep-rooted bitterness.

Pullen was a bit raw as a combo guard at Proviso East High in Chicago’s near-west suburbs, coming from the same program that had produced star guards for years — most recently Dee Brown at Illinois at the time.

But he wasn’t recruited to follow in Brown’s shoes by Weber at Illinois. Instead, Weber landed high-profile point guard prospect Demetri McCamey — another Chicago product — as the centerpiece of his 2007 recruiting class. A year earlier, he’d recruited big man Brian Carlwell — a teammate of Pullen’s at Proviso East.

At the time, it was completely understandable why Weber went for McCamey instead. In hindsight, Pullen had a far more decorated and successful college career after taking a chance as an afterthought of sorts in a K-State recruiting class that was led by stars in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker.

Is there a point to bringing up all of Weber’s recruiting misses? Granted, it’s a very long list. While we’re at it, let’s bring up how Jereme Richmond, Crandall Head and McCamey himself were all HUGE DISAPPOINTMENTS. Or how Weber could have had John Shurna (the greatest player in Northwestern history) and Robbie Hummel (top 5 player in Purdue history) .

I mean Weber has already paid for these mistakes with his job, so what’s the point? And he gets a pay check from two schools during the next two seasons, so don’t cry for him too much. Pullen is simply expressing himself, and I’ll defend to the death his right to do that; but it still comes off as sour grapes from five years ago; no more, no less.

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB)You should too.

Meet The Blogger

Paul M. Banks

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and ChicagoNow.
He's been a featured guest in dozens of media outlets including The History Channel. His work has been cited in hundreds of publications including the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.